Memorable moments on the trail. #3 Loboche

It was our 7th day out and we had about a 5 hour hike. After lunch we climbed our first pass. It looked rather daunting from the bottom but we took it nice and slow, like always, and after a little more than an hour we were at the top. At the top was a memorial for all those who lost their lives climbing Everest. Most of the memorials were simple stacks of stones but there were a few larger ones with plaques and all. It was a neat place to see especially after climbing that pass. We rested here for a little while then continued on to Loboche. We had no idea what would be in store for us there.

At first we didn't take much notice of our guest house. Once we got to our room though, we saw that this was the worst one yet. It was so small that the beds didn't really fit. They were curled up at the ends. Also it looked like it was constructed entirely out of scrap materials. There was a dirty tarp on half of the ceiling, one wall was corrugated steel siding that had small holes in it from its prior use, and the rest, well let's just say it looked like we were in a run down shack. I'm sure the accommodations in tent city in Athens are comparable if not better. Tala had said her head was hurting, a sign of altitude sickness, and Shiba told her to eat some garlic soup. He also told us we should not take a nap this afternoon, but stay up and just hang out in the dining room. We did as he said and sat and talked amongst the many international trekkers. After some time, a group Russians came and sat at the open spots around us. They were all splitting a large pot of tea, nothing out of the ordinary up here. However, soon they started dipping their spoons in the jelly/jam jars on the table. Now this weirded me out for a couple of reasons. One, they were double, triple, quadruple, etc dipping and two, I thought of the unlucky people who would probably use that jam later and unknowingly eat some of those Russian's spit. They evidently didn't see anything wrong with their actions but I noticed some other trekkers watching them with a little disgust as well as some of the guest house employees. They must have eaten the better part of 2 jars before they were done with their tea.

The next slightly alarming event occurred shortly after the Russian tea party. Two young kids who worked at the guest house were charged with lighting a fire in the stove in the dining room to warm things up for the night. This was the first time I saw the dried yak shit being used for fuel. We had seen patties drying since day one, but we hadn't seen them used. In order to get the fire started, the boy added some kerosene and he also spilled some all over the stove. Next the two of them raced to get it all started with some matches. Tala felt very uneasy about this since our guest house was more or less a tinder box. The children got the fire started safely but we soon found out that the stove pipe did not work properly. Within a few minutes smoke from the burning shit was filling the dining room. Let me tell you this is not a pleasant odor. Tala and I decided to give up our seats and escape outside. It was quite cold but the fresh air was worth it. We then decided to check out a couple other guest houses nearby to see if there were any vacancies. Of course they both looked like 5 stars compared to our ramshackle dump and of course they were all booked up. Disappointed we returned to our room hoping to find refuge from the smoke. No luck, but it was better than the dining room where everyone had a bandanna or something of the sort covering their nose and mouth. In the room, Tala and I devised an escape plan should the place catch fire. Lucky for us we had a window to escape from unlike the rooms across the hall.

By dinner time, I was feeling ill. Part of it was due to the altitude but it was mostly due to our accommodations. For the first time I had trouble eating my dinner and I went to be early that night. I fell asleep easier than I thought but I woke up hearing the guy across the hall hacking and puking in his room. The walls were so thin I could've sworn he was right outside our door if not in our room. I expected to see vomit in the hall the next day but thankfully I didn't. Also in the night our room got smokey again which made getting back to sleep difficult. I found that I couldn't turn towards the wall next to my bed because the smell of gas/kerosene was too strong. We found out later that they put petrol in the water in the bathroom so it doesn't freeze. I won't even get into how disgusting that toilet was. Let's just say I decided to pee outside. Needless to say we survived our time in Loboche. I have never been so happy to get up at dawn to start hiking in the freezing cold as when we left that next morning. Thankfully we didn't have to stay there again on our way down.

Memorable moments on the trail. #2 Horse's milk

Our dinner in Deboche was also a new experience. Our guest house was particularly full and the dining room was rather small so our guide, Shiba, invited us to eat in the kitchen with the other guides and porters. It was kind of a back stage pass to see how the kitchen works in these guest houses and eat with the crew. A few of the guys were sitting near one of the stoves which are all wood fired and the rest were sitting at a couple of tables waiting for their dal bhat. They eat this stuff twice a day, every day. And like everything else on the menu, it's all made fresh to order. We came to find out that dal bhat is basically Nepal's national dish and most everyone eats it for breakfast and dinner. All it really consists of is rice (bhat) and a thin lentil soup (dal). There are also curried vegetables that can be prepared in several ways that accompany the rest.

Soon our food was served to us which was probably something like veg fried noodles and we could feel them watching us eat. It didn't matter much to me because I was hungry. When I was about finished one of the guides came in the kitchen with a red plastic pitcher and poured a couple of guys, including our guide Shiba, glasses of a milky white liquid. I was wondering if in fact it was milk and what kind it might be. I thought it would be yak milk. But before I could ask Shiba, he offered Tala and I a glass. He said, "It's horse's milk." I couldn't believe it. The first thing that came to mind was Jackass 2 when they helped 'milk' a stallion and one guy drank some. Gross. Then I wondered if it was even possible to milk female horses. For some reason that seems like it would be a funny sight to see. Well Tala quickly declined the offer and Shiba started laughing. He told us that it wasn't horse milk but chhaang, homemade rice beer. Upon learning this, I took him up on the offer of a glass. They drink it warm and it kind of tasted like sour sake. I didn't think it was bad at all and had a second glass. Apparently many household make the chhaang and all are a little different.

A few nights later I shared some chhaang with Shiba again. This time it was super chunky. It was really weird and a little difficult to drink. The taste was about the same but you couldn't take a sip because of the big chunks of rice. I had to pour it in my mouth, chew a little, and swallow. It really was like drinking your dinner. A couple of days before the end of our trek, Shiba, Tala, and I shared a couple of pitchers of chhaang and watched TV for the first time in almost 2 weeks. This time the brew was sweeter and without chunks. Very nice tasting and we all got a good mellow buzz. We watched about 2 hours of pro wrestling that evening and I found out that it's very popular with the guys working on the trail. Who knew?

Memorable moments on the trail. #1 Squat toilets

Reader advisory: Don't read if you don't want to know about my crap.

I never appreciated our 'western' style toilets more until the first time I was forced to take a crap hovering over a squat toilet. For those of you who haven't had the experience of using one, it's basically a toilet bowl sunk even with the floor. And most of the time, at the guest houses, you don't flush these things. Oh no, there's just a barrel of water with a small pitcher or something of the sort in it to scoop water out of it and dump it down the drain. Because of this, the floor in the bathroom is almost always completely wet and sometimes there's puddles.

It was day 4 and we were in Deboche. The last 'normal' toilet was in Namche, we had hiked for about 7 hours, and I had to go real bad. We got to our guest house and I checked out the bathroom only to see the dreaded squat toilet. I had to use it so I locked the door and popped a squat. It was so awkward and uncomfortable. I was trying aim correctly, make sure my pants wouldn't hit the wet floor, keep my balance, and still relax enough to do the deed. Very quickly my thighs began to burn from squatting, but I was able to drop a nice turd. I was pleased to see my aim was true but the effort had been a little nerve wrecking and I didn't feel the satisfaction of a job well done.

Tala and I were resting before dinner when the gas pains started and they confirmed what I had thought when I finished the first time, I wasn't done yet. In order to make it a little easier I decided to change to shorts so there'd be less chance of getting my clothes wet. So once again I locked myself in, this time for round 2. I positioned myself and lowered my shorts. As I bent and squatted down, a massive fart exploded from my ass and before I could laugh I was rocked by another which fired two turds...way off their mark. I broke out laughing and I was sure someone was hearing all this and wondering what the hell was happening in the bathroom. I regained my composure and really felt a lot better. Now I had to figure out the best way to move my waste across the floor to the bowl. Thankfully there was a little toilet brush propped up in the corner. After dumping a couple of pitchers of water down the hole, I washed my hands and was off to tell Tala. Unfortunately for her I had to tell someone and she was the only one there. She did, however, give me a good tip on squatting stances which undoubtedly helped make my bathroom time a lot easier for the rest of the trek.

Our Himalayan Trekking Expedition begins

We left Kathmandu on the 18th to fly to Lukla, the starting point of almost everyone's trek toward the Everest base camp. The plane ride was only 45 minutes which was more than enough on a small and crowded turbo prop plane. Just before we left the US one of these planes crashed on the approach to Lukla's airport. Tala was very concerned about this but Gelu reassured her that it would be ok since the airline had five planes and there are still four left. It was pretty crazy to be flying between the mountains and then all of a sudden you are landing on one of the shortest runways imaginable. After our safe landing the whole cabin clapped and cheered. We set off after a cup of black tea with our two new Nepali friends, Sheba (our guide) and Lukba (our porter). The first day's hike to Phakding was relatively easy and short. The views are amazing but you have to watch where you are walking because the ground is very rocky and uneven. Not to mention yak dung is almost always underfoot. I stepped in no less than two fresh piles yesterday while I was looking around. This part of the trail is also very busy. It is the trekking season so there are many tourists and there are just as many porters carrying gear, food, and all sorts of other equipment. There's also the yaks and occasional horse or donkey. Our guide told us that all the supplies for the villages are carried in on the backs of man or animal. I don't know how these guys do it.
Our second day of hiking started off with a moderate hike but after lunch the real tough part began. We had about 2 and a half hours of hiking up steep switchbacks. We did, however, get our first glimpse of Everest. Both Tala and I were extremely grateful to reach Namche Bazaar and get into our room. I was also grateful for a warm shower. This village is the largest sherpa settlement in the area. Hence the availability of Internet access.
The accommodations are ok. Its kind of like staying at a rustic camping lodge. The rooms are a bit drafty since there are gaps around the windows and sometimes window panes, however, we rented a couple of nice sleeping bags and they make all the difference. Probably the worst part of staying in these rooms has nothing to do with the guest house itself. No it's the stench of my feet and shoes. I can only hope we get used to it or maybe we'll have to invest in some incense. All the buildings here are built of hand hewn stone blocks and the windows are set in heavy wooden frames. Some of the guest houses here in Namche are quite impressive. Some as tall as four stories. Tomorrow we hike again. We don't know where we are going yet. That will be determined over dinner. Until I blog again, wish us luck.

Monkey Temple

For our first outing in Kathmandu, Gelu took us to Swayambunath Stupa otherwise know as the Monkey Temple (http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/qq229/Cecilwolf/Picture003.jpg). It is one of the oldest stupas in Nepal. It sits on a hill west of the city that provides a panoramic view of the Kathmandu Valley (http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/qq229/Cecilwolf/Picture015.jpg) and it contains a Hindu temple, a Tibetan monastery and other shrines. So it is an important place of worship for both Buddhists and Hindus. While we were there we witnessed the start of a Hindu ceremony. Tala was very excited about all the monkeys and very shortly after arriving we witnessed an adult monkey's attempt to steal something from a vendor. There were also several dogs living at the temple as well. However, they did not seem as well off as the monkeys. Most were thin and mangey. We walked around the stupa, clockwise as is Buddhist custom, and spun a few prayer wheels which surround the base. We briefly stepped inside the monastery for a look and this was the first time we were required to remove our shoes before entering a building. When we departed, we took the steep eastern staircase down. The stairs were well worn and seemed to slant forward. This along with the steep decline made the decent a little precarious. Later in the afternoon Tala and I braved the streets and walked to Durbar Square. Thanks to my new compass watch we found it with little difficulty. Navigation of the streets is difficult because few streets have names. I am still amazed drivers know how to get around. The Square is a complex of many temples and shrines. For our trip back to the hotel that day we decided to take a cyclo/rickshaw. It was a fun little ride for us but seemed like a lot of hard work for the driver. He actually had to ask a taxi driver at one point for directions. I couldn't blame him. I certainly didn't know where the hell I was.

Photobucket

I am having trouble getting my pics from photobucket to this blog. I have a few on there now with more to come. If you want to try viewing them on photobucket search for them by my user name Cecilwolf. I'll try and get some up on the blog as soon as I can.

The Road to Kathmandu

Our travels to Kathmandu were not very exciting believe it or not. In a nutshell it was about 36 hours of flights and lay-overs in airports. We first flew over night to Frankfort, Germany. Not a bad flight especially since I had an aisle seat and Tala had a window seat. Our next stop was Munich where we anticipated an eight hour lay-over and we planned to go into the city to explore (drink:) a little. However, our plans were ruined when we learned our flight from Frankfort was canceled and we were rebooked on a later flight. A hell of a thing to happen on our second flight of many but something that wasn't too surprising. So we spent our time in Munich like we did in Frankfort, in the airport. We did get a good lunch at a cafe in the airport and I had a tasty weisse beer. From Munich we had another long flight to Delhi. Again unremarkable. Delhi was a cluster f*%k. The airport is undergoing a lot of construction and the waiting area we were placed in was lacking in seats and food and drink options. We did the best we could to catch a little sleep. Finally after 6 hours of waiting we departed for Kathmandu.

The flight was only an hour and half long but our excitement made it seem longer. As we approached the airport the terrain became more rugged and you could see some mountains coming through the clouds. Very cool. Also you could see some of the tops of the hills cleared off for houses and the land was terraced for farming. Once we landed we collected our bags and went through customs very easily. The airport wasn't very busy at all. As we walked outside I quickly spotted our guide, Gelu, who would take us to our hotel. Let me tell you Kathmandu has the craziest traffic I've ever seen. First they drive on the left side of the road, but lanes don't seem to matter much anyway. The streets are narrow and clogged with people walking, cyclos pedaling, motorcycles weaving in and out, cars doing a little of the same and everyone getting out of the way of the large trucks. The streets are dirty and trash dumps seems to be any clear place on the road side (http://i450.photobucket.com/albums/qq229/Cecilwolf/Picture035.jpg). Tala even saw a monkey jump out in front of our car. We made it to the hotel safely and checked in and had a drink with Gelu. After he left us we retired to our room to get some much needed rest and prepare to explore the city the next day.